Kyrgyzstan denounces terrorism day after deadly firefight in Bishkek (VIDEO)

Religious leaders marking the end of Islam's holy month of Ramadan have condemned extremism a day after a deadly firefight broke out in the centre of the capital Bishkek.

Korupciya.world reports citing  UT

Speaking to thousands of devoted followers the country's spiritual leaders implored the country's youth not to be brainswashed by terrorists claiming to represent Islam.

Maksatbek Aji Toktomushev, Mufti of Kyrgyzstan: "The enemies of Islam created terrorism, it was created to desecrate Islam, for Muslims to spill the blood of Muslims. My dear Muslims, my dear people — and especially a request to the youth — do not make terrorism and extremism your religion. There is no need for you to go abroad. We must be wiser, Islam is a religion of goodness."

On Thursday (July 16) Kyrgyzstan's police said they had killed four members of an "international terrorist organisation" in a firefight near the centre of Bishkek, underscoring continued volatility in the Central Asian nation.

Kyrgyzstan, a mainly Muslim nation of 5.5 million which lies on a drug trafficking route out of Afghanistan, is politically volatile. Two presidents have been deposed since 2005 and hundreds died in interethnic bloodshed in its south in 2010. Russia maintains an airbase in the country.